Mirror Image
by JakFrost
Summary: Gabrielle just wants to get out. She's tired of her foster parents' view on pokemon and wants to go somewhere that won't have people calling her Demon Eyes. That's not too much to ask, is it?
1. Chapter 1: First Choice

Chapter 1: First Choice

It was a warm spring morning, the sun's harsh rays just starting to peek in through the open basement window. A girl, well more of a young woman actually, lay on the floor, staring up at the constellation painted ceiling. She waited until the light reached the top of her desk before deciding that it was late enough to begin the day. She was already wearing a pair of long worn jeans and a black tank top, but she reached over to the chair and picked up her jean jacket, hand embroidered with vines, flames, stars and moon. She picked up the almost empty backpack, slung it over one shoulder and crept up the creaky stair, keeping to the edges to prevent noise.

She wasn't being quiet to let her foster parents sleep just to be nice, she honestly didn't want them to know she was leaving. They definitely wouldn't allow her to go to the professor's house to get her starter pokemon. They didn't like pokemon all that much and basically looked down on anyone who thought to use or befriend them. If it had been a few years earlier they might have been more accepting of their foster daughter's dream of traveling, and training pokemon, but the years had not been kind and the little farm was struggling to just make ends meet. Pokemon were just an extra mouth to feed.

Gabrielle snuck outside, squinting in the light. Swiftly she ran towards the orchard, to get beneath the cover of the trees. Reaching up the teen grabbed a tiny green apple for her breakfast before starting the mile long run it would be to reach the road. Since she made this run at least once a day she was barely winded by the time she stopped. Now only four miles stood between her and her new pokemon.

She stuck the apple in her mouth while she pushed her long straight black and violet streaked hair into a high ponytail. _What pokemon would be the best for me? There aren't that many to choose for a starter but hopefully I'll pick the right one._ When Professor Hemlock had received the starter pokemon for the summer he had posted a list of which ones were available, but Gabe had refused to look. _That way I won't be disappointed if the one I want is gone._ By the time she reached Hemlock's house the apple was gone and even though it was still morning the day was already starting out to be a hot one.

She opened the door silently, and walked into the Lab. Already a few other new trainers were waiting for Professor Hemlock to let them choose. Most stood in clumps, whispering to each other, but there were a few who stood by themselves. She walked over to an empty corner after signing in, keeping her eyes to the floor.

She knew by now that her eyes odd color was a least a small reason as to why her friends were few and far between. They were mostly devoid of all color except for around the edges of her irises, where a hint of violet could be seen. Demon's eyes, was what was whispered when no one thought she could hear.

Gabe looked up as Professor Hemlock, a tall broad-shouldered man with slightly greying black hair and warm, yet sharp blue eyes, and another figure walked in. She smiled when she saw the smaller figure was Briar. Briar Hemlock was one of her only friends in the small village and the professor's nephew. He was tall for his age too but in a lanky sort of way, with the hereditary dark hair, and his mother's amber colored eyes. He smiled when their eyes locked causing her to smile back, before mimicking two of the talkative girls across the room. That produced one of the silent laughs the two best friends had perfected over the years.

It was strange and a little unnerving how well the two knew each other. It seemed that they could read each other's minds, though neither of them had tested positive for any psychic powers. Briar put up with and even seemed to understand Gabe's odd ways, sometimes even joining in with her. She in turn understood and accepted his need to see and act on the silly side of life, most of the time ignoring any serious problems faced. They were two sides of a coin, complete opposites yet continuously connected.

"Today is the day each of you will receive your starter pokemon. For most of you this means the end of you time in our village for a long while at least. You should have thought hard about the pokemon you will choose," Professor Hemlock shot a meaningful look at Gabe, knowing full well her ignorance of the choices. "Each pokemon has their own merits and will help their trainer grow as much as they will. To determine the order in which the pokemon will be chosen I have given each person a number and will randomly choose the numbers."

The first number called was one of the girls Gabe had mimicked. Her choice was a vulpix. The next was a boy at least three years younger than Gabe's 16, and his choice was an ekans. When the next name was called, Gabe was surprised to hear it was hers. She walked slowly up to the pokeballs that were lined up on a shelf in front of the group. She kept her eyes down so as to not read the sign telling which was which and lifted her hand about an inch above the balls. Her hand moved from the right to the left and was almost towards the end of the row when she stopped and picked up the ball under it. She walked back to her corner, clipping the pokeball to her special belt. When she met Briar's eye all she could say to his unspoken question was a simple shrug.

About a half hour later all of the new trainers had received their pokemon and were leaving. Briar met her outside and started walking with her back to the farm.

"So, what was your choice?" he asked.

The only answer she gave was another shrug. He sighed then smiled.

"Well can you tell me why you chose that one, then?"

"It felt right, I guess. I dunno, it's not something I can really explain. I just knew that was the pokemon for me. It's just one of those 'is' things." She smiled when Briar had finished the phrase with her. He knew her too well.

Briar looked down at the pokeball that contained his new ghastly. "Well don't you wanna see what it is?"

"Yeah, I guess it would be a good idea to at least know what I have before I get home. I mean, I don't think my foster parents are gonna like it that I have one, but not even knowing if it could be of any help on the farm? They'd have a fit." She unclipped the pokeball from her belt and let the pokemon inside it out. After the light had cleared a tiny brown pokemon with long ears and a bushy tail tipped a cream color, stood before them. It tilted its head to the side looking slightly confused. Gabe's eyes had widened slightly. She looked into Briar's smiling eyes.

"I got an eevee? That was one of the choices?"

Briar laughed at her shocked look. "Yup. Eevee was a choice. Ya would have known that if you looked at the list." He glanced up at the sun to check the time. "I better get back. I still have a few chores left today and it's getting late. Talk to them again about letting you go since you have your pokemon already. If they still don't agree just come with me anyway." He turned and walked back the way they had come.

"Right like that'll work," she called after him. She knew it was getting late and if she didn't get her chores done quickly there would be hell to pay. Hell for both her and the eevee that walked peacefully by her side.


	2. Chapter 2: Unpleasant Reactions

(A/N: Thanks everyone who reviewed! I hope y'all like this chapter too!

**Emerald Milotic**: I'm honored that you think this is the best pokemon fanfic you've ever read. I hope this next chapter doesn't disappoint you.

**BlueBanglesYRP**: Thanks. I know what you mean about the grammar. It bugs me too when the author doesn't care enough to take the time to make sure their work is readable...Sad thing is, grammar doesn't like me too much .; Oh well.

**Lunar Sphinx**: At first I was a bit upset that my fanfic wasn't quite up to your standards but I am glad you were honest in your review. I hope you think this is a better chapter and I look forward to future reviews.

I reentered this chapter with a few technical changes. Nothing earth-shattering but it would have bothered me to no end if I hadn't fixed it.

And without further ado...)

Chapter 2: Unpleasant Reactions

By the time Gabe reached the farm it was too late to pretend to be just getting out of bed, so she threw her backpack under her favorite willow tree after placing the new pokeball in one of the smaller compartments, and headed toward the garden located behind the shed to start the weeding. The eevee followed playfully behind, occasionally pouncing and jumping for fun. As Gabe knelt to do her work she stopped only long enough to tell Eevee one thing.

"If anyone else comes outside, I want you to run away and hide as if you were wild until I call you. Okay?" The tiny pokemon nodded once before going back to her game.

After finishing a full day's work in five hours less than usual, Gabe was ready to just go to sleep but it seemed that her parents had other ideas.

"Oh Gabrielle! I went into town earlier this afternoon and heard something quite strange." Gabe's foster mother Nadine sounded upset and more than a little angry. Gabe looked up, her worry carefully hidden by a convincing look of innocence. "Mrs. Calcite told me that her little Mikey had seen you at Professor Hemlock's Lab. See the thing is I _know_ you wouldn't have gone there, because you know how we feel about you becoming a pokemon trainer and pokemon in general."

"Yeah well Nad. You can't believe everything you hear." Gabe's voice was conspicuously lacking in emotion, the way it usually got when she was on the verge of an extreme rage. She didn't know what it was about her foster parents that seemed to always get to her. They just did.

Just then Tom, her foster father walked in. He didn't even look at her before stating in his hard, usually intimidating voice, "Watch your tone, girl. And where is the little waste of space. Probably in that bag of yours isn't it." He reached for the bag, ripped it out of Gabe's hands and roughly overturned its contents on the kitchen table. The tiny pokeball stood out sharply against the packets of seeds, pens, pencils, copybook and sketchbook that fell out. He picked it up and opened it. Nothing happened.

Gabe had known something like this would have happened, especially since Nadine was so nosy. She had told the little fox pokemon to wait by the window to her basement room. _I wish he would just forget about this whole thing, That would make tonight somewhat pleasant. _Tom just growled before dropping the bag on the floor and walking over to the fridge to get something to fill his constantly empty stomach.

Nadine rolled her murky hazel eyes, by now used to her husband's short attention span. "If I ever catch that thieving little beast on our property, it'll be lucky to draw a breath the next morning."

Knowing the woman was serious this time, Gabe fled the room, for the first time scared of what her guardians could do. The first thing she did, once she had settled in her room was open the window so her new friend could join her. As the eevee explored her new surroundings, Gabe slid a crate-sized box out from under her bed. Her practiced fingers effortlessly opened the combination lock that secured the lid before lifting it off. Inside the box were her treasures; things she had collected over the years, things that had traveled with her through every family she had been apart of. A short note written to her by her mother before the woman had left her in the care of her aged grandparents, a single blaziken feather, a few books on pokemon, at least ten empty pokeballs she had collected and a palm-sized intricately carved ocarina.

Everything else in her possession was expendable. _Maybe I will go with Briar. There is nothing keeping me here, but there is something keeping me from going with him. _With a mental shudder, she lay back on her bed staring blankly at the ceiling, her eevee momentarily forgotten as she fought down the wave of emotions and images that threatened to dissolve her hard earned shell. This was the only thing she had ever kept from him, her worst shame.

What normal, or at least sane, person couldn't control the way their thoughts ran. No, she would not tell him of this weakness. Besides it would go away on its own. The councilor at the orphanage told her that it only happened because she never got settled. Once she stopped house jumping and finally put down roots it would leave on its own. _I just need to give it a little longer._

Gabe rolled over, curling into a ball. Her body trembled uncontrollably as she fought the urge to scream and tear through her room, destroying everything she could. A roaring wind sounded in her ears as memories and images of outside fought for dominance. Even though she was exhausted from her day of work, her muscles cried out to be used. The roaring eased a bit and Gabe became aware of a concerned whining sound.

When she opened her eyes, after they cleared of tears, she saw her eevee, sitting patiently by her pillow. A half-hearted self-conscious chuckled escaped past her lips.

"What a homecoming you've had tonight. Evil yelling strangers and a master who can't even go through a day without seeing and hearing things. Maybe I should just give you back, let a real pokemon trainer help you get stronger."

The eevee just nudged her comfortingly and tilted its head in such a fashion that Gabe couldn't help but smile. Although she felt drained, the new trainer felt bad that she had spent so much time away from the her pokemon. She stuck both hands behind her back and then to the eevee's perspective, seemed to magically produce an apple for a treat. Gabe really had stashed one away when she was outside in the orchard and had it hid behind her but seeing the eevee so pleased with the trick she deemed it a worthwhile exercise.

"Now what should I call you? Or do you already have a name?" Eevee let loose a long string of whines, growls and yips causing Gabe to smile once again. "I don't think I'd be able to pronounce all of that. How about...Nika?"

The eevee yipped once, seemingly in agreement.

"Well, now that _that_ is settled, I should be getting to bed. I've got another long day ahead of me tomorrow. I won't have much time to train you tomorrow during the day so you have to stay out of trouble and out of sight, but the night I'm all yours got it?"

Gabe turned off the light and slowly drifted off to sleep as Nika curled up beside her, a warm comforting presence in the otherwise cold night.


End file.
